This statement can be attributed to Erica Palmer Smith, Kentucky government relations director at the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network:
“Cancer patients, survivors and others concerned about the health of Kentuckians are celebrating the passage of legislation that will restrict the use of e-cigarettes in public places where smoking is prohibited in Louisville. We're grateful that those who live or work in Louisville will no longer be exposed to potentially unsafe secondhand aerosol emitted from electronic cigarettes where smoking is already prohibited.
“The US Surgeon General weighed-in in a 2016 report confirming that the aerosol from e-cigarettes is not safe. According to the US Surgeon General, the aerosol can contain harmful and potentially harmful chemicals, including nicotine; ultrafine particles that can be inhaled deep into the lungs; flavoring such diacetyl, a chemical linked to a serious lung disease; volatile organic compounds such as benzene, which is found in car exhaust; and heavy metals, such as nickel, tin and lead.
“We applaud the Louisville Metro Council for taking this important common sense step forward in protecting public health but additional protections are still needed. Their decision to exempt hookah establishments until June 2019 and e-cigarette retail stores with 85 percent or more of their sales from electronic smoking products is very disappointing.
“It’s likely that many people who use hookah don’t realize that hookah smoking, as well as breathing secondhand smoke from waterpipes, is at least as harmful and addictive as exposure to cigarette smoke. Hookah smoke is associated with increased risk of disease including cancer, heart disease, lung disease, and adverse effects during pregnancy. In addition, the sharing of a waterpipe mouthpiece increases the user’s risk for communicable diseases.”